Automatic brush-filling machine



July 7,1959 J. P. P. MARTIN AUTOMATIC BRUSH-FILLING MACHINE 5' Sheet-Sheet 1 Filed July 18, 1955 Nvh July 7, 1959 J. P. P. MARTIN AUTOMATICBRUSH-FILLING MACHINE s SheetsSheet 2 Filed July 18, 1955 1 w mu July 7,1959 J. P. P MARTIN 2,893,783

AUTOMATIC BRUSH-FILLING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1955' 5 Sheets-Sheet 3July 7; 1959 Filed July 18, 1955 r J. P. P. MARTIN AUTOMATICBRUSH-FILLING momma 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 July 7, 1959 J. P. P. MARTIN2,893,783

AUTOMATIC BRUSH-FILLING MACHINE Unite States Patent I AUTDMATIC BRUSH-FILLIN G MACHINE Jean P. P. Martin, Beauvais, Olse, France, assignor toLa Brosse & J. Dupont Rennis (Socit Anonyme), Paris, France, a Frenchcompany Application July 18, 1955, Serial No. 522,645 Claims priority,application France July 24, 19 54 8 Claims. (Cl. 300-9) In my patentapplication Serial No. 458,630 filed September 27, 1954, I havedescribed an automatic machine for filling brush-heads, which utilises,for forming the hanks, a continuous layer of synthetic fibres whichunwinds from a bobbin and which is inserted laterally into the fillingdevice in order to form the hanks, which are cut-off directly from thelayer at the length required for the formation of the tufts, the lengthsof the hanks being varied, depending on the height of the tufts whichthey are to form in the head of the brush.

The feeding head of the machine described 'in the patent applicationabove referred to comprises a drum on which the layer forms one deadturn, and two clamping jaws which enable the layer to be held stationaryduring the cutting-elf of a hank, the length of the hank beingautomatically determined in accordance with the outline of the brush tobe manufactured, by suitable means causing the driving motor of thelayer of fibres to be rotated by the amount which corresponds to theexactdesired length of the hank.

The present invention relates to a head for feeding the layer of fibresinto a filling device of the type, described in the above mentionedapplication, this head being of more simple construction than thatdescribed in the said patent application, and in which the control ofthe length of the hanks may be effected in an exact manner by means ofcams, withoutrisk of errors due to recoil for rebounding, in spite ofthe high working speeds of the machine.

In accordance with the invention, the feeding head includes two pairs ofclamping jaws arranged so as to be able individually to grip the layerof fibres in order to feed it by a predetermined length into the feedchannel of the filling device, while the latter is maintained at its topposition, one of these pairs 'of jaws, herein called the fixed jaws,being inactive during the lgreater part of the period comprised betweenthe feeding of two successive hanks, the other jaws, herein called themoving jaws, being adapted to make a to-and-fro movement during each ofthese periods, in a direction parallel to the axis of the layer, theposition of each of these jaws being determined at the beginning of eachof the said periods by means of two cams, the individual clamping of thetwo pairs of jaws being effected by electro-dynamic members, whilst afurther electro-dynamic member is provided to carry out the to-and-fromovementof the moving jaws, a shearing knife being arranged toco-operate with the moving portion of the filling device so as tocut-01f each hank from the layer of fibres at the beginning of eachfilling operation. I

In one preferred form-of embodiment of the invention, the two pairs ofjaws are arranged to slide in the same guide, and they are provided withextensions which come into contact so as to limit the travel of themoving jaws in the forward direction, the "cam which controls the'p'osition of the fixed jaws being arranged so as tofix positively theposition of the fixed jaws in this direction.

- The electro-dynamic members usedror controlling the 2 gripping actionof the jaws are preferably of the movingcoil type acting in a radialannular magnetic field, and they comprise a pivoted lever rotating aboutthe axis of the moving coil which actuates the jaws through the mediumof a ball arranged to slide on the said lever.

The following description with reference to the attached drawings (whichare given by way of example only and not in any sense by way oflimitation) will make it quite clear how the invention may becarriedinto eifect. 'In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevation view of the upper part of the machine, fittedwith a filling device of known type and with a feeding head inaccordance with the present invention, the second Working post beingoccupied by an automatic drilling device for the brush handles.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of the feeding head taken alongthe line 11-11 of Fig. 3.

'Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, showing the arrangement of theelectro-dynamic members which actuate the gripping jaws.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section passing through the axisof the el'ectro-dynamic member which is utilised for displacing themoving jaws.

Fig. 5 is an axial cross-section of an electro-dynamic member foreffecting the gripping action of the jaws, showing the manner in whichit is arranged to co-operate with these jaws.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal cross-section, taken along the line VI-VI of Fig.l, of the moving portion of the filling device which carries theguillotine knife co-operating with the "plate of the fixed jaws tocut-01f the hanks from the "continuous layer of fibres.

In the embodiment of this invention shown in Fig. l, the machine frameis provided with a table 1 carrying the two trolleys 2 and 3 which arearranged to move in -directions at right angles to each other and onwhich are fixed the work-carriers 16. Above the table, the frame has anupper cross-member 401 on to which are fixed, above each of thework-carriers 16, respectively an automatic drilling device 450 of anyparticular type and a filling device directly actuated by anelectro-dynamic member 405 of the type described in the patentapplication above referred to. The main motor 162 of the machine is alsomounted on the upper, cross-member 401 and is arranged to drive througha pulley 451 and a belt 452, the main shaft 161 which is mounted inbearings (not shown) provided in a casing 453 which contains the controlmechanism of the crank-arm 13 of the filling tongue, the latter beingadapted to make a to-and-fr'o movement in the "moving portion 62 of thefilling device.

The feeding head, which is indicated as a whole at 454, is mounted on acradle 2% arranged to slide-on the table 1. Itsbase-plate 455 moves onslides 456 rigidly fixed to the cradle 26 and it is guided along theslides by guidi'ng members 457. The plate 455whic h carries the feedinghead 454 and the cams which control the jaws, and which will bedescribed later, may thus be displaced at right angles to the plane ofthe drawing for a purpose which will be explainedlater.

On the base-plate 455, at the left-hand side of Fig. 2, is fixed a block458 in which areslidingly mounted the rear stop member 459, the movingjaws 460 and the fixed jaws 461 simultaneously constituting the frontstop member. These three members are bored through with a channel whichpermits the layer of fibres 11 to pass, the layer being drawn by the twosets of jaws from the right-hand side towards the left-hand side of Fig.2. Aligned with the bores of the jaws and in the opposite direction withrespect to the filling device, the base-plate 455 is provided with ajournal bearing 462 in which pivots a shaft 463 carrying at its lowerportion a worm wheel 464 in mesh with a worm (not shownon 'thedrawin'gskeyed on the shaft 465 rotating in bearings provided in the cradle 20.The shaft 465 is driven by means of universal joints 466, 467 and thetelescopic shaft 468 (see Fig. 1) by a chain wheel 469 rotatably mountedon the frame of the machine, the wheel itself being driven by the chain470 and a chain wheel 471 keyed on the main shaft 161. At its upperextremity, the shaft 463 carries two cams 472 and 473 control-ling thedisplacement of the stop members co-operating with the moving jaws. Thecam 472, controlling the rear stop member 459, is of the kind having anexternal peripheral camming surface, whilst the cam 473 actuating thefront stop member is of the type having an internal camming surface. Inthe block 458 of the feeding head and under the rear stop 459 is mounteda slider 474 subjected to the action of a spring 475 urging said slideraxially in the right-hand direction for applying a roller 4-76,pivotally mounted at its extremity, against the external periphery ofcam 472. This slider 474 is provided with a vertical hole in which isengaged a catch 477 extending downwards from the lower part of the stopmember 459, the block 458 being of course provided with the necessaryslots for permitting the stop member 459 to move to the maximum extentimposed by the cam 472. The fixed jaws 461 play the part of a front stopmember; they are fixed in a similar manner by a stud 478 to a secondslider 47 9 arranged to move parallel to the jaws 460, 461 and to thestop member 459 in the block 458.

At its right-hand extremity in Fig. 2, the slider 479 is formed as ahook carrying the roller 480 which is ap plied against the internalworking surface of the cam 473. A spring 481 bearing against a heel 482rigidly fixed to the slider 479 provides a permanent contact between theroller 480 and the cam 473. Each of the two pairs of jaws has a memberprovided with a lateral extension 460a and 461a, these extensions cominginto contact when the moving jaws 460 are displaced towards the front,the extension 461a of the fixed jaws 461 thus serving as a stop memberfor the moving jaws in that direction.

The movement of the moving jaws 460 is controlled by the followingmechanism: under the base-plate 455 (see Fig. 4) is fixed anelectro-dynamic member 483 formed by a hollow core 484 of iron or mildsteel extending along the axis of a yoke 485 having the shape of a bellin order to provide an annular air-gap 487 therebetween. n the core iswound an exciting coil 488 and in the air-gap 487 a moving actuatingcoil 489 is arranged to move axially, the coil having a continuouscurrent passed through it. The insulating material spool of the movingcoil 489 is secured at its centre to a rod 490 sliding axially in thehollow core 484, said rod being provided at its upper extremity with aforked member 491. A bell crank lever 492 pivotally-mounted about afixed axis 493 is pivoted at one of its ends to the fork 491, its otherextremity 492a being fork-shaped and engaged on a thimble 494 rotatingon a spigot 495 which is rigidly secured to the moving jaws 460 andmoving in a slideway 496 formed in the block 458 parallelly to the slot497 in which the upper ends of the jaws 460 and 461 are adapted to move.When the two coils 488 and 489 are simultaneously energised by directcurrent, the moving coil 489 takes up one of its extreme positions inthe annnular magnetic field created in the air-gap 487 by theelectromagnet 484, 485, so that the moving jaws 460 are applied throughthe medium of the rod 490 and the bell crank lever 492 against the rearstop member 459, or against the front fixed jaws 461, depending on thedirec tion of the current passing through the moving coil 489, thedirection of the current in the coil 488 being assumed to be fixed, andthese moving jaws are held applied against said stop of said fixed jawsby the electro-dynamic force acting on the moving coil. This force,which may be very high, operates in the same direction as the springs475 or 481, depending on the case, for maintaining the rollers 476 and480 applied against their respective cams, and this avoids any errors ofpositioning which might be plate-510 (see Figs. 2 and 6) made ofhard-tempered due to the occasional rebound of the rollers on the camsin a machine running at high speed.

The two pairs of jaws 460 and 461 are arranged and controlled in thesame way; thus, one of these jaws will be described with reference toFig. 5, and this description is equally applicable to the other pair.The body 460 of the jaws is formed with a longitudinal channel 22leading through it, in which passes the continuous layer 11 of fibres.Above the body 460 is mounted a piston 498 provided at its lower partwith a flat extension 499 sliding in the body 460 and closing thechannel 22 when the piston 498 occupies its lower position. Springs 500abutting on the under face of the piston 498 and located in suitablehousings provided in the body 460, normally maintain the piston 498 inits upper position. The upper face of the piston 498 is provided with ahemi-spherical recess in which is housed a ball 501.

On the side of the block 458 of the feeding head, there is mounted, byany suitable means, an electro-dynamic control member 502 comprising acoil 503 arranged to move in a radial annular magnetic field, and in allrespects similar to the electro-dynamic member 483 actuating the movingjaws, which has already been described with reference to Fig. 4. Thehollow core of this member 502 has passing through it a rod 504 rigidlyfixed to the coil 503, this rod being pivoted to the end of a straightlever 505 pivotally mounted between its extremities about an axis 506carried by a forked member 507. The fork 507 is rigidly fixed on a plate508 rotatory mounted on the base of the yoke of the electro-dynamicmember 502 through a ball thrust-bearing 509.

The ball 501, which is housed in the recess on the upper part of thepiston 498, is provided with a radial hole loosely accommodating theextremity of the lever 505. It will be clear that, when a current of asuitable direction is passed through the coil 503, this coil isdisplaced upwards, and this has the effect of causing the lever 505 topivot in the direction moving the piston 498 downwards thus closing thejaws 460. When the latter are displaced by their control mechanism, theball 501 moves the lever Whilst sliding along it and this lever turnsabout the axis Y-Y of the rod 504 carrying with it, through the mediumof the fork 507, the plate 508 rolling on the bearing 509.

For cutting-off the banks from the layer of fibres 11, there has beenprovided a guillotine knife comprising a steel fitted with a dove-tailjoint into the fixed jaws 461 so as to come exactly level with the frontface of these jaws, said plate is pierced with a hole 22a forming anextension of the feed-channel 22. With this plate cooperates a movingshearing knife 511 (see Fig. 6) which is mounted on the moving part 62of the filling device.

This knife 511 made of hard-tempered steel is shaped in the form of a Uand is adjusted so as to slide laterally on the moving part under theaction of springs 512 urging it against the plate 516; the knife issupported in the vertical direction by seating surfaces 513 milled inthe moving portion 62 of the filling device. In the base of the U of theshearing knife a hole 514 is provided forming an extension of thefeeding orifice 71 provided in the moving part of the filling devicewhich, consequently is facing the hole 221: of the plate 510, when saidfilling device is in its upper position.

In order to actuate the electro-magnetic members operating the jaws, itis only necessary to reverse the direction of the direct current passingthrough their moving coils, and this can be easily effected by means ofthe series of circuits described with respect to Fig. 12 of the patentapplication already referred to; it is thus not necessary to give adetailed description thereof and it is sulfi- .cient to recall that eachmoving coil is associated with a disc provided with two holes, said discrotating in front of a photo-electric cell, which thus produces twoimpulses per revolution, the phase of which is controlled :oy suitablelocking of the disc so as to produce the required reversals of currentat pre-determined moments. For further details, reference may be made tosaid former patent application.

It is necessary to specify that the worm actuating the 'worm wheel 464is of the single thread type, that it makes one turn for each completerevolution of the main shaft 161 and that the worm wheel 464 has antnnber of teeth equal to the number of hanks to be inserted in onebrush. It is thus necessary to change this worm wheel when the number ofhanks to be inserted in one brush-head is changed, and consequently, thebase plate 455 must be displaced with respect to the cradle 20, thismovement is permitted by the slides 456, 457.

At the period preceding immediately the feeding of the layer of fibresinto the filling device, the extensions 460a and 461a of the two pairsof jaws are spaced apart from each other by the length I (see Fig. 2)which is the length of a hank, the moving jaws 460 are in contact withthe rear stop member 459, the position of which is determined by the cam472, whilst the front jaws 461 have a position determined by thecam 473such that the front face of the plate 510 is spaced apart from the axisof the filling device by a distance equal to The operation of the devicedescribed above is as follows: the layer of fibres 11 unwinds from thebobbin on which it is stored and passes first of all through the channelof the rear stop member 459, then into the two pairs of jaws 460 and461, being supported between these latter by a length of elastic tube515, which is preferably constituted by a spiral spring of thin wire,having spaced coils loosely mounted in bores provided in the twoextensions 460a and 461a of the fixed and moving jaws and whose ends aresecured in the bottom of said bores. Between two filling periods of thehanks, the end of the layer 11 comes exactly level with the plate 519 ofthe fixed jaws.

When the moving part 62 of the filling device is at its top position,the current is reversed in the coil 503 of the electro-dynamic member502 actuating the moving jaws 460 so as to close these jaws, and thenthe same operation is carried out for the coil controlling the jaws 461so as to open these jaws. When this has been done, the direction of thecurrent is reversed in the coil 439 of the e'lectro-dynamic member 483controlling the movement of the moving jaws 460 so that the latter arebrought by the fork 492a and the thinrble 494 into contact with thefixed jaws 461. During this movement, the layer of fibres 11 which isgripped in the moving jaws 460 moves from right to left inFig. 2,passing through the open fixed jaws 461, and is fed into the feedingorifice 71 of the filling device by a length 1 equal to the distanceoriginally separating the two jaws from each other. The direction of thecurrent in the moving coil of the electrodynamic member controlling thefixed jaws 461 is then once more reversed in order to close said fixedjaws 461.

At this moment, the moving portion 62 of the filling device makes itsdownward travel; as soon as this happens, the base of the U-shaped partof the knife 511 sliding against the plate 510 of the fixed jaws 461,and which is driven by the moving portion of the filling device,cuts-off from the layer of fibres 11 the length l of fibers which hasjust been fed into the filling device by the feeding head and which isrequired to constitute the hank. By reversing the direction of thecurrent in the corresponding moving coils, the moving jaws 460 are firstopened and then are caused to move reaiwards to bring them up againstthe stop member 459. The initial positions of the various members haveall been thus regained, and if the following hank to be filled has thesame length as the previous one, the cycle of operations is continuedwithout any change of the position of the fixed jaws 461 and of the stopmember 459,

Assuming, on the contrary, that the length of the new hank to beinserted differs by Zn from that of the preceding one, it is necessary,in order that this hank shall remain centered in the filling device,that the distance between the axis of the filling head and the cuttingplane of the knife shall be varied by A, that is to say the plate 510 ofthe fixed jaws is moved forward or backward byA depending on the senseof the variation. This movement is derived from the cam 473 through themedium of the slide 479. In order that the length of the hank may bevaried by 2A, it is necessary that the travel of the moving jaws 460shall also be varied by 2A, and since the fixed jaws 461 forming thefront stop have already moved by A, the moving jaws must be movedforward or backward, depending on the case, by 2A+A=3A. Thisdisplacement is effected by the cam 472 which is driven, like the cam473, by the worm wheel 464 which is angularly moved by one tooth foreach revolution of the main shaft. The arrangement of the cammingsurfaces of the cams is such that the movement of the stops 459, 461 iscarried of hanks of the same lengths. The profile of the cams will thusof course depend on the profile of the brushes to be filled, as well ason the number of tufts in the said brushes. Said cams are constructed inaccordance with a well-known technique familiar to those skilled in theart and it is thus unnecessary to describe them here in detail.

During the manufacture of one type of brush, the feeding head remainsstationary on the frame of the machine, its position being fixed onceand for all at the moment where the machine is adjusted, owing to theimpossible relative displacements between the frame and the cradle 24[solid with the slides 456] on the one hand, and of the base-plate 455of the feeding head 454 with respect to the cradle 20 on the other hand.The relative movement between the fixed filling device and theworkcarriers 16 is obtained, in the case of the machine described in theabove-mentioned patent application referred to at the beginning of thepresent description, by means of the two trolleys 2 and 3.

It will, of course, be undersood that modifications may be made to thefeeding head which has just been described, without thereby departingfrom the scope of the present invention. In particular, although it hasalready bee indicated in the above description that the reversal of thecurrent in the moving coils of the electro-dynamic control devices couldbe effected by means of a series of electronic circuits, these reversalsmay be effected by means of any other known device which enables them tobe effected at precise and pro-determined moments of the operating cycleof the machine.

What I claim is:

1. A feeding head for a machine for filling brush-heads with continuoussynthetic fibres arriving at the said head in the form of a layer andwhich feeds into the filling device of the said machine hanks ofpre-determined lengths severed from the said layer, said feeding headcomprising two pairs of gripping jaws through which the said layer offibres is arranged to pass and which are disposed for clampingindividually the layer by means of electrodynamic control members, oneof the said pairs of jaws being fixed and the other pair movable duringthe major part of the period comprised between the filling of twosuccessive hanks; a further electro-dynamic member being adapted so asto displace the movable pair of jaws once with a to-and-fro movementparallel to the direction of the continuous fibres layer during saidperiod; a rear stop member for preventing further movement of the saidmovable pair of jaws during its displacement; a cam coupled to the rearstop so as to determine the position of the said rear stop; a second camcoupled to the said fixed pair of jaws in order to set the distancebetween this fixed pair of jaws and the axis of said filling deviceextending at right angles with respect to the direction of movement ofsaid movable pair of jaws; and, to sever the hanks from the said layerof fibres, a shearing device comprising a plate carried by the saidfixed jaws and a U- shaped shearing knife carried by said filling devicearranged and adapted to move laterally on said filling device and urgedagainst said plate for sliding thereon, said plate and said shearingknife having holes extending therethrough which are in registrationduring the feeding period of the fibre layer into said feeding device.

2. A feeding head according to claim 1, in which the two pairs of jawsare provided with extensions forming stops which come into contact so asto limit the travel of the said moving jaws during their displacementtowards the front.

3. A feeding head according to claim 1, in which the second camcontrolling the position of the said fixed jaws has an internal workingface and is located behind the said jaws with respect to the fillingdevice, and a sliding member rigidly fixed to the said fixed jaws has anextremity formed as a hook carrying a roller which is held in contactwith the working face of the said second cam.

4. A feeding head according to claim 1, in which each of said pair ofjaws comprises a body portion bored with a channel therethrough in whichmoves the said layer of fibres; a piston carrying a lower extensionslidably mounted in the said body so as to close said channel at the endof its travel; and springs mounted between the body of the jaws and thepiston for urging the extremity of the said extension away from thebottom of the said channel.

5. A feeding head according to claim 4, in which the upper face of thepiston of each pair of jaws is provided 8 with a hemispherical socket inwhich is engaged a ball arranged to slide on a clamping lever for thejaws.

6. A feeding head according to claim 5, in which the electro-dynamicmembers for the actuating the jaws each comprise, an electro-magnetproviding a radial annular magnetic field, a coil arranged for movingaxially into said magnetic field and secured to one extremity of a rodsliding axially through the yoke of said electro-magnet, a rotatingmember carried on said yoke and adapted for rotating about the commonaxis of said rod and of said yoke, a clamping lever pivoted intermediateits extremities on a forked support, said support being secured on saidrotating member adjacent the outer periphery thereof, said clampinglever being pivoted at the end of one of its arms to the extremity ofsaid rod opposite to said coil, and said ball being loosely fitted onthe other arm of said clamping lever for sliding thereon.

7. A feeding head according to claim 1, in which the saidelectro-dynamic member which effects the displace ment of the movingjaws comprises a coil axially-mounted in a radial annular magnetic fieldat the end of a rod coupled to the extremity of one of the arms of acranked lever, the second arm of the said cranked lever terminating in afork the limbs of which engage with a thimble pivotally-mounted on anaxis fixed to the moving jaws.

8. A feeding head according to claim 1, in which the moving part of saidfilling device is provided, on a pair of parallel faces located at rightangles with said plate car- :riedby the fixed jaws, with milled portionsadapted for guiding in a sliding fit both limbs of said U-shapedshearing knife, and spring means interposed between said moving part ofsaid filling device and said U-shaped shearing knife for applying theouter surface of the web of said U-shaped shearing knife against saidplate.

No references cited.

